Some Chinese have a dry and witty sense of humor at the financial turmoil roiling the world, and China to a lesser extent. This ditty is making the rounds on the internet.

Some of it is inside baseball, thus the footnotes and explanations at the end. It begins with an explanation why securities regulators advise Chinese against jumping into the stock market now. Otherwise, they say, investors will:

Enter with a BMW and leave on a bicycle

Enter in a western suit and leave in a bikini

Enter as management and leave as labor

Enter with a PhD and leave as a dimwit

Enter as Yao Ming and leave as Pan Changjiang (1)

Enter as a crocodile and leave as a gecko

Enter as a python and leave as an earthworm

Enter as a tiger and leave as a housecat

Enter holding a dog leash and leave on a dog leash

Enter standing up and leave on a stretcher

Enter as the Brazilian soccer team and leave as the Chinese soccer team

Enter as a man and leave as a eunuch

Enter as Huang Shiren and leave as Yang Bailao(2)

Enter as Edison Chen(3) and leave as a photograph

Enter as Liu Xiang(4) and leave as Fan Paopao(5)

In summation, you will enter as the planet and leave as a ping-pong ball

1.  Famous comedian known for his short stature

2. Real estate mogul whose company's stock price plummeted when he publicly advised his employees not to donate more than 10 yuan to the Sichuan earthquake survivors. He was forced to issue a public apology and then his company, Vanke, donated 100 million yuan to rebuilding shelters in the earthquake area. Oops! As several alert readers point out, this should say that Huang Shiren is an evil landlord and Yang Bailao is a poor peasant who had to sell his daughter to pay off a debt to Huang.

3. The scandal involving actor Edison Chen involved the illegal distribution over the Internet of intimate photos of the Hong Kong actor with various women, including actresses Gillian Chung, Bobo Chan, and Cecilia Cheung. The scandal shook the Hong Kong entertainment industry in early 2008.

4.  Liu Xiang is China's world-record holding 110-meter hurdler who dropped out of the Beijing Olympics due to injury. He is China's first gold medalist and world record holder in a men's track and field event.

5. Fan Paopao's real name is Fan Meizhong, a teacher who became infamous for rationalizing saving his own life rather than helping his students during the Sichuan earthquake.